Mali
Our strategy
Empower Malian communities to cope with and recover from resource scarcity, particularly in fragile conflict-affected areas.
The context
Once acclaimed as an example of stability in West Africa, Mali spiraled into an unprecedented political crisis after the government was overthrown in March 2012. The radical Islamist occupation in the north displaced nearly 400,000 people and compounded a severe food crisis that spanned across the Sahel region.
While the French-led intervention that began in January 2013, supported by a coalition of foreign armies, is fighting to reclaim these territories from armed groups, a palpable threat remains. Widespread poverty, an agricultural economy vulnerable to droughts, limited government service capacity and insufficient infrastructure throughout the country leaves populations in a fragile position.
Our work
- Emergency response: Providing unconditional cash transfers that enable 7,500 vulnerable families in rural northern Mali to buy food and essential supplies
- Agriculture & Food: Helping agro-pastoralists who migrate their herds from Mali to Niger keep their livestock healthy with feed and vaccines
All stories about Mali
-
Mali: Fighting cuts off food and humanitarian assistance February 5, 2013
Mercy Corps team members in the Gao region report that food supplies are dwindling since the military offensive against rebel extremists began in January.
-
Mali: Families stock up on food October 11, 2012
Mercy Corps teams are distributing emergency monthly vouchers to families in northern Mali that allow them to buy food on the local market. The money gets them a month's supply of the necessary basics they choose; most are stocking up on oil and rice.
-
Mali: Emergency food aid is just the start October 11, 2012
Mercy Corps teams are now providing desperately needed assistance in Mali to those who are struggling to find enough to eat.
-
Mali, Niger: What you want to know about the Sahel hunger crisis August 16, 2012
The hunger crisis in the Sahel is not an immediate emergency that gets splashed across the evening news. Instead, the tragic circumstances of drought and failed harvests have been building since the beginning of the year.
-
Mali, Niger: Expanding hunger relief efforts May 1, 2012
Our teams are working on expanding desperately needed cash distribution to hungry families in Agadez, the largest city in northern Niger, as the country's food crisis deepens.